pieces of a dream
by laraiteforever
Summary: It's 3 years after Patrick died, and Lara has been struggling to come to terms with his death. Then one day...things begin 2 change...
1. Chapter 1

Ok..picture the scene: It's after world gone wrong part 2, and Lara is all alone. She hasn't got over Patrick's death, and is really struggling at work. Enjoy!

Lara sat on the sofa, unable to fully understand the days events. What had started to be a normal day at work, had ended in a close friend in ITU and what had been a day that she would not forget in a hurry. At work she had plenty of friends, colleagues, making sure she was OK, offering their support. At home she had noone. Noone to say "it'll be OK". There had been a someone, someone who would've been great in this sort of situation, but.. He's gone. She missed him more than ever now, and it's times like this she wishes he was still here. There had been a couple of phone calls, only Josh though, just making sure she was OK, and saying that Nikki was going to be fine. Good for her, she thought. Nikki had all her friends around her, they could pop up in their breaks to see her, but Lara had noone now, well not till she went back to work. Who'd come to check on her? People seemed so wrapped up in their own lives, they had lovers, who would take time to think of a singleton like Lara? It's times like this you know who your real friends are.  
Patrick would have been so supportive in is situation. He always was, and had his own ways of dealing with it. Those were the good old days, but all good things must come to an end. Dreams were shattered. Houses, weddings, children, holidays all gone just like that. A life cruelly stolen away from her, from the one who loved her the most.  
Things had been spiralling out of control since that fateful night. There had been a pregnancy scare, the caving incident and now this. She used to think "Noone could overpower me" and well, now they have.  
She was sitting there, tears streaming down her face, the events of the past 12 hours getting on top of her. The tears flowing were like washing away the events, but nothing could change what had happened. Thats when it happened. What happened next was unexplainable, it was like something out of a film.  
"Lara..Lara it's me." Lara looked up, and saw a figure standing there, a hand reaching out and smiling. All Lara could do was look on in disbelief, unable to accept that Patrick was there, standing infront of her. She blinked, thinking that Patrick was all in her head, but he was still there.  
"Patrick..I.. I don't understand." She said, her hands now visibly shaking, and shaking her head. It felt strange, seeing after him after so long, but in a way, it felt good to see him, as it showed that she really wasn't alone. In this world she wasn't alone, and that Patrick would be with her always, just like he said he would.  
"I know what happened today Lara. It'll get easier, I promise. You'll be fine, you shouldn't have to go through this alone." Lara sat there, amazed. Dozens of things came into her head. Still she refused to believe that he was actually there, let alone standing there, actually speaking to her.  
"How? I don't understand.." Lara asked, wondering how he could know about what had happened, but maybe he was like a spirit, who followed her around, making sure that she was safe..but things have happened which didn't make her feel safe. Infact things seemed a lot different then. With Patrick around she felt totally secure and confident in herself. Now nothing. Running everything by Max incase she slipped up. She found it difficult to switch off after shifts, offering to work longer if the need arose.  
"I know that you've been struggling to cope since I left, and I wish I was here with you, I really do, honestly. Everyday I wish that this was all a dream, wanting so much to be here with you, I miss you so much" And with that Lara broke down in tears, crying into a teaddy bear, one that Patrick had bought her...

to be continued!


	2. chapter 2

An hour passed and Lara had accepted the fact that Patrick was there, in what was their living room, standing there, bold as brass, in front of her. They reminisced about the old days, and one thing in particular stood out for her. They were talking about the time when Patrick had bought the engagement ring. Lara had asked him a question, which had never been answered.

"You asked me a question" Patrick began, now sitting beside her, staring lovingly into her eyes. He smiled, and carried on.

"You said 'and me... Am I a stone to die for?' well the answer's Yes. Yes you were a stone to die for. I've never stopped loving you skip, and I never will." This brought tears to Lara's eyes, holding tightly onto the teddy bear, which was gradually getting damp with all the tears. She pulled out a box, in which was a silver necklace, and on that necklace was a gold ring, with a pure cut diamond in the centre. That was the engagement ring. The ring that Patrick had given her minutes before he died. She held it in her hand, the ring hadn't been worn since.

"You kept it. You kept the ring" Patrick said. For the first time that evening Lara smiled, the memory of that special moment flooding back. That night when Lara thought she had lost him forever, she thought all hope of him getting out had gone. Then, just as the fireboys went to pull out, there was a surge of hope and he crawled out.Out into Lara's arms, the relief written all across her face. She feels somewhat responsible for what happened.There was an eerie silence between them for a while. Patrick looked down and noticed just how bad things had got. There were bruises on her arms and bags under her eyes. What worried him the most was the stick insect that sat beside him. Lara had got worringly thin.She was always small, but never this small. He pondered over whether he should say anything.

"Lara look, erm...you look, erm...You been eating properly? It's just you look really thin..." Lara stood up, and wandered over to the mirror. She stood infront of it, and stared. She looked, and wiped a tear away from her eye. She sighed loudly, before returning to the sofa.

"Yeah, I've been really busy at work lately..not been at home much." Patrick shook his head disbelievingly. He wasn't convinced that Lara was being truthful. He thought that there was more than that. A lot more. She looked a shadow of her former self, it's like the Lara that he knew and loved and the Lara now are two completely different people. Patrick's heart fell as he realised that Lara was slowly wasting away. She needed help, fast.

"Look skip, I'm really worried about you, I think you need help, someone to talk to..please Lara..for me." He looked at her, hoping that she would agree, as it would only be a matter of time before something bad would happen. Lara smiled, before nodding her head. She looked lovingly into Patrick's eyes, and wiped another stray tear away.

"Yeah..I guess you're right..I have a problem and I need help. I'll speak to Max, ask for time off, and I'll make an appointment to see my GP. Ok?" Patrick nodded and smiled. Lara could be quite stubborn at times, so for her to agree to something like this was different for her. She looked at the clock that was on the wall. It read 8:30. It would be too late to ring Max now, as he would've left now, and the night shift would've started. She yawned loudly.

"Lar why don't you head off to bed..I'll stay here tonight..on the sofa" Patrick grabbed hold of a red cushion, and mouthed 'go'. Lara said good night and headed off to bed.


	3. a problem halved

Patrick crept silently into Lara's bedroom, and perched precariously on the end of the bed. He watched as Lara slept, her eyes tightly shut, and the teddy bear close by. For the first time that night Lara had actually slept, whereas before she was restless, unable to sleep. Having Patrick there seemed to help Lara relax, because for the first time in 3 years she felt safe and secure, just knowing that there was someone who seemed to care. Patrick smiled, ut this was only the beginning.

It was another hour before Lara began to wake up. Patrick remained by the bed, so that he was there for her. He watched as his sleeping beauty awoke from her perpetual slumber, with her prince charming looking on contentedly, waiting for the right moment to deliver the kiss of life. He leant over and kissed her softly, as to not startle her. She stretched, before sitting up. She noticed Patrick, sitting there.

"Hi... how long have you been here?" She asked, her voice slightly croaky from all the crying and shouting the day before. She cleared her throat, before collapsing back onto the bed.

"What time is it?" She asked, rubbing her eyes, sighing loudly. She glanced over at the clock beside her bed. It read 9:30. Her shift was meant to start to start in half an hour. She sighed loudly, and with that she got up. She walked out of the room, when Patrick picked up the phone and placed it on the table.

"Ring Max... tell him you won't be in today". There was a look of disbelief and confusion on Lara's face. What to do? Should she pull a sickie, or explain all to him? After all, he saw what she was like, and he should understand. Patrick held out the phone.

"Go on". He said, encouraging Lara to ring Max, say she wasn't coming in today. She took it, and walked back into the bedroom. She sat on the unmade bed, and dialled the number.

"Hello Holby ED, how can I help?" A voice said. Lara smiled, as the familiar voice belonged to Bex.

"Oh hi Bex, is Max around?" She asked, yawning quietly.

"Hi lar.. he's up in his office, i'll put you through". She tanked her, and waited anxiously. Patrick towered above her, waiting to catch her if she fell. He didn't dare say anything in case anyone heard.

"Hullo...Lara?" A voice answered. It was Max's familiar warming voice.

"Hi Max.. Erm would it be ok to talk to you about something?" She waited anxiously for a reply.

"Yeah that's fine hun.. Why don't you come in later, around, say, 1:30? The department shouldn't be too busy then. I'll meet you at reception".

"Yeah that's fine..I'll see you then". Lara breathed a sigh of relief as she hung up the phone. Patrick delicately laid a hand on her shoulder, smiling contentedly. Lara stood up slowly, and turned round to face him. He was wearing the clothes that he was wearing the night he died. It was like he never went away .It felt like nothing had changed. He hadn't changed one bit. Patrick followed as Lara walked out of the bedroom, and into the kitchen. There she began searching through the cupboards, before rushing through to the bathroom. There she began rummaging through one of the cupboards. She paused, and pulled out a small box.

"Lara..what's that?" Patrick asked inquisitively. He glanced over, but couldn't make out any writing.

"It's.. Er.. Calms me down..I started taking them after the..." She stopped, before opening the box.

"Started taking them after what?" He asked, pushing for an answer.

"Nothing. Really it's nothing" she said, stealing the box away from him.


End file.
